[Soft*Silver]

my brother committed suicide when he was 24. I was 18. He used a shot gun. There are so many details floating in memories that are too grotesque to share here. But I will say this...Roseanne's blog is pretty much what to expect when someone you love commits suicide. At least from my own experience. I cant believe what came out of people's mouths..its as if they had lost all social sense. People told me my brother was going to burn in hell for taking his own life. And I had to live down what he did. And that he was a coward. And they wondered if he had gotten a girl pregnant. (back in the days this was a horrible mess) or was he a "queer" or did he have a drinking problem?

At the time, it made me bitter...and I slammed shut so no one could get to my core, which had just been skinned open by his violent death. Its when I started to drink, so I could numb out the autrocity of his death and the stupidity of how people responded to it.

Now, after sobriety and therapy, I realize those people didnt know better. I can forgive them for adding salt into the wounds. That doesnt make what they did,right. In fact, it is SO wrong that I spend awhole lot of time in my personal life educating people about suicide. I dont want anyone to go thru what I went thru.

Roseanne was way off base for saying what she did. She needs to understand that once you say something, it lasts a lifetime. She needs to think before she speaks...